First-Year Writing Seminar: Do Colors Have Histories?

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The ancient world presents us with some puzzles about color. The ancient Greeks described the sea not as blue, but as porphureos, a term that is most often translated into English as “purple.” This is reinforced in their metaphor for the sea as like wine in a cup. The beard of the god Zeus, meanwhile, is kuanos, a deep blue—a quality that he shares with gods in Egypt and west Asia, whose beards are described as and rendered in the blue stone, lapis lazuli. Did ancient people see colors in a different way? Or did “color” entail something different? In this class, these ancient examples serve as prompts for us to consider—or, to reconsider—how we think about color and color’s expressive possibilities, especially in the visual arts. Our semester will be divided into three parts, each guided by a question: (1) How did the ancient world think about color differently, and how might their experience of color encourage us to see differently? (2) How does color function symbolically in art and representation? (3) Do colors have histories? We will write short essays that correspond to each part of the class; essay topics may include a description of a color category all your own, a visual analysis, and a history of your favorite color.